Pandanus amaryllifolius

Pandan People in Asia sure do love this herb. For many Asians, the taste of pandan is like the taste of mom’s apple pie to Americans The fragrance of pandan leaves is due to the aromatic compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which gives bread, and jasmine rice, their...
Alpinia galanga

Alpinia galanga

Greater galangal If you have tasted Thai food, then you have probably tasted galangal. It is a key ingredient in Thai green curry paste, but most Americans have never used or even seen the spice. Galangal is used much like regular culinary ginger, but the flavor is...
Kaempferia galanga

Kaempferia galanga

This little herb is fairly well known throughout Southeast Asia, but in America it is very rare and difficult to find. It is used as a culinary herb, as well as medicinally. The rhizomes are used throughout its range, as a culinary herb to flavor rice. This is one of...
Impatiens repens

Impatiens repens

Golden Dragon Impatiens Impatiens repens is an extremely rare plant from Sri Lanka. It is in fact considered to be extinct in the wild due to habitat destruction. The flowers look like a fiercely roaring golden dragon. The flowers are large for impatiens, and...
Curcuma caesia

Curcuma caesia

Black turmeric It took me a long time to get my hands on one of these. This is one of the rarest gingers in the USA. The inside of the rhizomes is not really black, but a dark blue. This Indian ginger is used mostly as a medicinal plant. It is reportedly effective for...